Thruxton in Hampshire is the harshest circuit on tyres that the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship visits. The exhilarating and fast sweeping turns coupled with the abrasive track surface presents drivers with the tough task of balancing outright speed with tyre preservation. Official tyre supplier for the BTCC – Dunlop – brings a special hard compound that is only used around the 2.36 miles of Thruxton.

In 2013 a number of drivers suffered from last-lap punctures including both Andrew Jordan and Jason Plato who had pushed just a bit too hard early on to gain the lead only to lose it again on the final tour. For 2014, Dunlop has worked closely with the teams to change the construction of the tyres, and the hard work has undoubtedly paid off. All the drivers who crossed the finish line in the three intense BTCC contests did so with four fully-inflated tyres, and the perfect race day conditions ensured that lap times were even faster than they had been the previous year.

In the video below courtesy of our partners at ITV Sport, Tim Harvey talks to Plato about the challenges Thruxton presents to both team and driver and the tactics employed to try and make sure the car reaches the chequered flag:

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